Town Attorney Grills Landowner as Tax Hearing Grows Longer

By IAN FEIN

During a tense two and a half days of cross-examination, West Tisbury resident William W. Graham revealed in a legal hearing last week that a private real estate appraiser valued one of his property parcels at a substantially higher price than town assessors.

An appraisal conducted in 2002 for estate tax purposes valued his 50-acre parcel at Mohu off Lambert's Cove Road at approximately $23 million.

Pond Stays Closed for Further Study

State Environmental Affairs Secretary Rejects Land Bank Management Plan at Lambert's Cove Road Kettle Pond

BOSTON - Citing concerns about potential impacts to water quality and protected species, the Massachusetts Secretary of Environmental Affairs last month denied the Martha's Vineyard Land Bank management plan for its proposed Ice House Pond Preserve.

West Tisbury Landowner Tells Tax Board Town Valuations Rooted in Faulty System

By IAN FEIN

West Tisbury resident William W. Graham testified in a legal hearing last week that town assessors overvalued his land by more than $30 million, a figure that resulted in an alleged overpayment of more than $300,000 in property taxes for 2003 and 2004.

Cape Wind Reconfigures Plan at Horseshoe Shoal to Meet State Guidelines

By IAN FEIN

Ceding to requests from state officials, commercial fishermen and the U.S. Coast Guard, developers of the Cape Wind project last week reconfigured the layout of their hotly debated wind farm proposed for Nantucket Sound.

Martha's Vineyard may have an affordable housing crisis on its hands, but it also has the community support and political will to address the issue

Edgartown Assessors Move to Correct Chappaquiddick Property Value Errors

By IAN FEIN

Edgartown assessors this week corrected extensive errors made during the town's real estate revaluation last year, voting on Monday to lower the value of 79 Chappaquiddick properties by almost $95 million and to return almost $300,000 in property taxes.